Water acts as a universal solvent because of:

Explanation

Water is called the "universal solvent" because it dissolves more substances than any other liquid. Because of its polarity, the water molecule becomes attracted to many other different types of molecules. Hydrogen mainly comes into the discussion for water's high boiling and melting point, alongside its interaction with other molecules capable of making hydrogen bonds. Since this excludes the dissolution of polar substances such as ions, etc. hydrogen bonding alone does not explain the Universal dissolution of water. Water also has a high heat of vaporization which is the amount of energy needed to change one gram of a liquid substance to gas at a constant temperature. However, that property doesn't make water suitable to be the 'universal solvent'. Moreover, In humans and other organisms, the evaporation of sweat, which is about 99% water, cools the body to maintain a steady temperature. The ability of Cohesion (Water molecules are attracted to each other) and Adhesion (Water is attracted to other substances) also doesn't make it worthy to be called the 'universal solvent'.